


A blooming Spell

by Luminee



Category: IZONE (Band), K-pop, Produce 48 (TV), The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Elves, F/F, Fairies, Initiation quest, M/M, Magicians, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prophecy, Slow Burn, Vampires, changmin is a cat, curses and villains, spreading the boyz izone agenda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:41:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28384209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luminee/pseuds/Luminee
Summary: "You shouldn’t believe appearances, Sunwoo, everything is more than what it seems and there is plenty that you don’t know about. Yet.”***Sunwoo follows a strange black cat to an abandoned theater. He'll open the door to a magic world and discovers his true identity, and the new role he has to take.
Relationships: Bae Joonyoung | Jacob/Lee Jaehyun | Hyunjae, Choi Chanhee | New/Kim Younghoon, Choi Yena/Jo Yuri, Han Chowon/Kang Hyewon, Ji Changmin | Q/Kim Sunwoo, Lee Chaeyeon/Miyawaki Sakura, Lee Juyeon/Son Youngjae | Eric
Comments: 9
Kudos: 37





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my best friends Ako, Phil and Marie who read this months ago and always support me a lot.  
> I hope you'll enjoy like they did this fic :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! 
> 
> This fic has been on my computer for months and I was very excited about posting it but also very scared because it's going to be a LONG fic and i'm a slow writer. So let me put that out first, please, if you read and like this, bear with me, I'll try my best, I have already more written so I'll give updates at first once a month and then just do my best. But if you don't wanna wait, I'll understand, I just wanna warn because I know it can sucks to have a fic and never see updates. 
> 
> So now that this is done and you've decided to go for it, I'll add that this project is so dear to my heart and I've wanted for years to write something like that and it is ambitious and I hope I'll meet everyone's expectations (or at least that you all will be satisfied with it)  
> Although there is iz*one members, I believe it is okay to read it while just being deobi because the boyz are still the main characters but, the universe is a lot inspired by Secret story of the swan by iz*one and their visual universe, and just, I love them a lot haha. 
> 
> I think that's it for now, please let me know your thoughts and expectations in the comments and your support if you like this! It means a lot!

The black cat easily jumped on the top of the garden wall, making his way toward another cat, a slighter bigger one with gray and black stripes. 

“So?” the tabby meowed. 

The other cat waited to be near to answer, his fur was entirely black except for his two front paws which made him look like he was wearing two white socks, “I followed him around all day.” 

The gray cat growled, “you’ve been following him for an entire week,” her ears going backwards but the male cat did not seemed impressed at all by the obvious hostility emanating from her. 

“Aren’t we supposed to do that?” 

She hissed, “Ji Changmin,” and she came a bit closer to the black cat, her fur bristled by the annoyance, “I didn’t ask for you to come with me to see you follow the rules now.” 

The so named Changmin scoffed, as he would have laughed if he had been a human being, “why don’t you do it, then, Kang Hyewon?” he asked, mocking the way she had pronounced his full name.

“You know perfectly why,” she yowled, this time pain could be heard in her meowing and it made Changmin’s ears twist around nervously, “they’re watching me, ever since Minami disappeared. They expect me to do anything to find her.” 

“And that’s exactly what you’re doing.” 

Hyewon let her head down, shameful, “I’m not doing it. You are,” the sound fell down so quietly at the end of her sentence that it was hard to hear it. 

The black cat meowed, oddly amused by the situation, “I have to break the rules for you and you’ll just pretend you didn’t see me doing it?” 

She slightly nodded. Changmin seemed to smile, his cat head tilted on the side. 

“I’ll do it,” he said. Hyewon raised hopeful eyes toward him. “I’m not a heartless person,” he continued with a serious voice, “if he can help you find your daughter than I’ll bring him.” 

“Thank you, Changmin,” she whispered. She held back a bump with her head, not really sure of how to act with the male. 

The black cat had another grin, “also this human is kind of fun,” he added in a lighter tone, his tail raised up in a straight line and his mustache moving with enthusiasm. 

Hyewon did not laugh but her muscles seemed less tensed than at the beginning of their conversation. She turned around, “bring him to the theater. Yena knows, she’ll open the way for you two. She’s waiting.” 

*

Sunwoo woke up a bit late that morning. Cursing at himself, he jumped out of his bed, realizing his alarm had not rang correctly. He put on the first pair of pants he saw and a white t-shirt that had been lying at the feet of his bed for a few days, and he ran out of his apartment. His roommate, Haknyeon, was still peacefully sleeping in his own room and he cursed him too, in his head, for the simple fact that he was able to be so tranquil while he had to run. 

The mirror on the elevator, bringing him to the entrance of his building, showed him the reflection of a young boy, his black hair messy since he had not had the time to brush it correctly before leaving. Fatigue was showing all over his face. He adjusted the buttons of his shirt, poorly ironed. He glared at the bags under his eyes and his pale skin, unusual for him who always had a very tanned complexion. He brushed over his hair and shirt, giving up quickly, and put on the jacket he had quickly grabbed before leaving, at least pleased to see that it was enhancing his broad shoulders, giving a hint that he was really twenty years old, and not a teenager like his face could suggest. 

The supermarket he was working in was, thankfully, not too far away from his building. Just a few blocks to walk by, nothing too much, but today it seemed like the biggest distance possible as he ran out of the elevator and in the streets. His manager was a nice person but she had pointed several times that she did not tolerated being late and the idea of having to handle a lecture so early in the morning was making him anxious. 

On the corner of his eye, he spotted a black cat, with two white spots on his front paws. He thought that it made the animal look like had socks. He also thought that this cat seemed oddly familiar, like he had seen it before. Even if he was still running late, he slowed down, not able to control the sudden curiosity that had been aroused inside him. The cat did not look like a stray, its fur was shiny and clean, yet it did not have any collar. The oddest thing was probably how the animal was looking directly at him. Sitting a few meters away from him, his tail circling around his front paws, Sunwoo felt uneasy under the gaze that seemed as heavy as a human’s one could be. He was sure he had already met that cat. 

He snapped out of it eventually, ashamed of himself for being almost intimidated by a cat. Still, he kept his distance with the animal, circling around it like it was going to attack him. However, it stayed still. Following his movements with his big round dark eyes without even moving the tip of his tail. Sunwoo was sure this was not a normal behavior for a cat, but also, he had never had a cat. 

The young man forced himself to continue his run, achieving the miracle to reach his workplace late, sure, but still a reasonable lateness that only gave him dark looks from his manager instead of a full lecture. 

His work was boring. In the morning he would organize the supermarkets shelves, refilling it with the products that had arrived earlier, adjusting the tags and checking if there were no mistake or confusion while answering some questions from a few clients who were looking for something specific. Sunwoo liked a bit more being the cashier, simply because it was near the glass front door of the shop, making it possible for him to daydream about random things while staring outside. However, today, he spotted the same black cat with the two white paws staring at him. No matter how hard he blinked, how hard he tried to convince himself that it was a different cat, or that it was not looking directly at him but was just doing its cat business, at the end of his shift, he was forced to recognize that the cat was watching him in peculiar. Which did not make any more sense and Sunwoo thought he would have rather liked to hallucinate. 

Sunwoo left the supermarket before the night was falling. He took a deep and big breathe. The cat was just there, sitting in the same way as he was in the morning, his black gaze was piercing the young man, giving him chills. 

“What?” he asked to the animal, not caring at all about the fact that he was talking to a random cat in the street, too freaked out by the fact that it seemed even more human now that he was next to it. 

The cat meowed. Sunwoo frowned, realizing he had expected a real answer for a second. 

“Yeah, you’re just a cat. A weird one but aren’t cat always weird?” 

For a second, it seemed like the eyes of the cat had moved like he had laughed. Sunwoo blinked to get this thought out of his brain. 

“Whatever,” he mumbled, this time to himself and not to the animal. He started to walk, ignoring the cat who meowed as soon as he passed by. It was now standing up, and it moved his head toward the opposite direction. Was it possible that a cat was giving him an order? 

“I really have to sleep more,” Sunwoo whispered. The cat meowed again, impatient. It took a few steps on the direction it had pointed earlier. “I’m not following you,” the young man let out, upset. 

The cat stopped, turned his head to him, slightly tilting it on the side and meowed more powerfully. 

“I do not have any food for you,” Sunwoo said again, scratching his head, not understanding what the cat was trying to do, “just find someone else, you’re a cute cat, someone will take you.” 

The cat took a moment and he thought that it would eventually leave but instead the animal came near him and rubbed against his legs. Sunwoo took a few step backs, panicked, “I said no!” 

A plaintive meow answered him, two begging eyes were now looking at him. 

“For fuck sake,” he muttered, “okay.” 

The cat had a little jump of happiness and his tail pointed straight as he started to walk again. 

“That’s not the direction to my house!” Sunwoo cried out but still following the animal. 

*

The cat stopped in front of an abandoned theater, in the middle of a very narrow and badly lighten street. Stuck between two tall buildings, the little place seemed to be completely swallowed up and if the animal had not meowed with intensity, Sunwoo probably would not have cared for it. They had walked for a few minutes into an oddly quiet neighborhood that the young man had never explored before. Every time he had tried to turn around and walk back home, the cat had sensed it, rubbing its tiny body against Sunwoo’s legs, looking at him sadly. And so he had followed it until there. 

The sign of the place only showed up “t e ter”, the neon letters had visibly been broken for years already, the windows had been replaced with thick cardboard pieces, although pieces of glass still holding up on the side and the paint on the walls had turned into a yellowish shade with time. A few old pieces of posters from the plays that had been performed there were actually the only proof that this place had one day been used, but they were slowly being hidden by enormous graffiti. He wondered why such an abandoned building was still up, why the city had not renovated or destroyed it already. But, it fitted the neighborhood vibe as the only souls he had crossed by had kept their head low, walking quickly, not paying attention to him or anything surrounding him. The entire atmosphere was making him feel uneasy.

The cat walked a bit toward the door. “You want me to go in it?” Sunwoo asked, chills going up and down his spine, the uneasy feeling getting stronger. The animal meowed.

The theater actually gave to the young man a very frightening feeling. It probably had been abandoned for years now, and he did not felt like trespassing into a possibly dangerous place. Even more since it seemed like it could collapse at any time. But the cat was meowing again, insistingly. 

Sunwoo sighed. He had followed the animal until there and he felt a bit of curiosity hiding behind the fear growing in him. “Okay,” he mumbled and the cat seemed to hear it and tilted his head happily. 

Cursing under his breath, he took very tiny steps to the door, hoping that it would be close, or too broken to be able to open it. Unfortunately for him, the door opened immediately, so easily that it felt like he did not even had to really push it. He felt the cat sliding between his legs to enter the theater. He stayed a second on the door frame, trying to see what was inside but it was completely dark and he could not discern anything past his own feet. A meow echoed. He sighed again and closed the door behind him. 

Like it had activated a special system, everything became lighter. Sunwoo felt his jaw drop as he discover a perfectly well cared interior, that looked bigger than what he had seen outside, shinier and ready to be used. He frowned. On one the side, a mahogany front desk, leaflets dropped here and there on the counter for plays he had never heard before. On the opposite side, a few bookcases filled with books and a brand new bar. The cat was nowhere to be seen. Actually, there was no one there. 

“Hello?” he screamed. No answer. 

Sunwoo anxiously stared around him, not daring to move, not understanding what was happening and how this abandoned place had turned into such a beautiful and new theater. 

“Anyone here?” he asked again, hopelessly. 

He focused and heard whispers, very light and muffled whispers. Slowly he advanced to where the sound was coming, trusting his instinct, his fists tighten, for self-defense, and his heart beating fast. He tried to distinguish what was the whispers saying but no matter how close he got to it, it was still inaudible. The sound guided him toward the bookcases, which was not near a door nor a window, making even less sense for Sunwoo. 

“Gosh, you played hard to get,” a voice suddenly said. Sunwoo jumped back by surprise, almost knocking out an entire shelf of book. He turned to the voice. 

Near the front desk a man, he had not heard coming, was standing. His hair were black, he had a very small face and a long neck, two dark eyes that were staring at him with a sparkle of amusement. He was smiling, brightly but a bit weirdly, showing two dimples on his cheeks. He looked very young, probably the same age as Sunwoo. 

“Who are you?” Sunwoo asked, more angrily than he had wanted to. 

The strange man laughed, “you followed me until here, do not be so tense!” he joked. His voice was high pitched. 

“I- what?” 

The man came closer to him, Sunwoo tried to back off but he met the bookcase, and the whispers were becoming louder even if there were still unintelligible. The other one pointed the book with his finger, “Yena and Yuri are always chitchatting so loudly,” he said like they had been having a conversation for a while. 

Nothing that came out of his mouth made any sense in Sunwoo’s head. He still had not passed the first thing he had said, trying to process the information but Sunwoo had followed a cat, not a person. 

“Who are you?” he asked again, in his most low voice, “where is the black cat?” 

The man pouted. “Sunwoo you still did not understood that? Hyewon will be disappointed.” 

“How do you know my name? Who is Hyewon? What is going on?” all the questions were spilling out his mouth. He did not even tried to hold it back, too confused and too scared to pretend the opposite. 

The man sat down on a one of the chairs available, one of his leg on the other one, he was still smiling foolishly. Sunwoo did his best to stay as away from him as possible. He thought about leaving the place, but for an unknown reason, his body did not reacted to that idea, like it felt stuck in this place. 

“The cat is I,” he said joyfully. 

Sunwoo stared at him, eyes widened. He felt his breathe choked in his throat, blocking his respiration and all the others questions that were still waiting to be asked. Once again the other man seemed amused by his obvious confusion as he laughed lightly. 

“The.. cat?” were the only words that he managed to spit out. 

“Oh, just one of the little tricks I know!” 

Sunwoo was sure he saw some gray sparkles coming out of his fingers, matching the playful tone of his voice. He shook his head, trying to get all his thoughts together and frowned. “I’m leaving,” he spitted out, “you’re crazy.” 

He took a few steps toward the door. 

“You can’t leave. I have to go back there with you,” the man said, losing a bit of his smile. He stood up, stopping Sunwoo by putting himself between him and the door. “My name is Changmin,” he added, “and we need your help. I’ve been watching you for a while.” 

Sunwoo escaped a bit from him, “do you realize how creepy you sound?” 

“I guess I cannot ask you to trust me, right?” he questioned, innocently. 

The other one snorted, “no.” 

“But, you trusted me when I was a cat. You came here when I told you to follow me.” 

Sunwoo stared at Changmin who seemed to enjoy the situation once again, making him feel even more annoyed. “The cat was cute,” he muttered, “anyone would have followed.” 

“Thank you,” he answered, smiling so hardly that his eyes were half closed, “although I am still as cute as a human. And I wanted you to come here, not anyone.” 

Sunwoo crossed his arms on his chest, trying to ignore the fact that the stranger was, indeed, cute and good-looking. The type of guy that Haknyeon would have probably try to set him up with if he had been in any other kind of situation. Instead, he just said, “This doesn’t make any sense,” Sunwoo said, tapping the floor with one foot, “you cannot be a cat. You’re human.” However the idea of leaving had fled out of his mind.

“And this place looks like it’s about to collapse from the outside, yet you entered and it turned into this beautiful theater, ready to welcome actors and spectators. You shouldn’t believe appearances, Sunwoo, everything is more than what it seems and there is plenty that you don’t know about. Yet.” 

He had insisted on the word “yet”, making the young man shiver. His voice was very soft, but still sounded very serious, something that did not fit his playful and cute features. Seeing that Sunwoo was not moving, Changmin came closer to him. 

“Even in yourself. There is more than you know about. You just have to believe a bit in it.” 

Sunwoo stayed still, his mind was buzzing from what the stranger was telling him, unable to fully grasp or understand everything. Yet the words seemed to resonate somehow inside him. Changmin went back to the bookcase, grabbed one of the book and came back with it in his hands. The whispers were louder as the book came closer. “We don’t have much time left,” he explained, “Yena and Yuri should be ready to open the door for us, but they won’t keep it open for too long.”

“Open the door?” Sunwoo repeated, “what door?” 

Changmin put the book in the other’s hands. A warmth came out of it, rushing through the young man hands and arms. It felt like it was calling.

“I promise all the answers will be given to you if you trust me.” 

“I-” he started but he did not finished his sentence. He looked into Changmin’s eyes who was looking gently at him. There was no more mischievousness in his gaze, no more playfulness, just a very kind and reassuring embrace. 

“You’ll still be able to come back at any time,” he added, “but is there anything holding you here?” 

Sunwoo blinked and thought for a second. His fingers were tingling. Like he knew what he had to do, he opened the book.


	2. The Council

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!   
> Like I promised here is next chapter one month after! There's still a few chapters written and I'm still able to write more here and there so I'm pretty pleased with it.   
> I'll let you enjoy this chapter, hoping it gets everyone a bit more into the story!

When Sunwoo opened his eyes the place had completely changed. From the beautiful yet cozy and spacious theater entrance, he had arrived into a narrowed but golden room. Two girls were sitting behind a bright white desk, one had blonde hair and the other one’s were red. On the table, and rolling onto the floor, was a long piece of paper, on which was written words in a language that the young man did not recognized. At least, he assumed it was a language as it looked more like random symbols. The walls were painted in a gold and shiny color. He squinted and realized that the walls were in fact hidden drawers. Behind the desk, two big doors. The ceiling was made out of glass but he could see nothing but a bright orange and yellow light that was completely filling the room. Next to him, Changmin was smiling at the girls. 

“We can hear you cackling from the other world, you know that?” he said playfully. 

The blonde haired girl stuck her tongue out at him. Her white suit, with pants and a grayer jacket covering her arms, seemed to make her drip glitter. The entire outfit was enhanced with sparkly gray and black stones and so was her makeup. The other woman was wearing an as glittery white dress, her red hair tied up in a high ponytail. The lights coming from above them was reflecting on the sparkles, making it look like their own skin was shining. 

“You took your sweet time, Changmin,” scolded the girl with red hair but she still smiled back at him. 

The man laughed, “that one was quite unapproachable, I’m sorry.”

The blonde hair girl shrugged, “keep your excuses for Hyewon, I think she’s going crazy over there.” She looked over at Sunwoo, who was pushing his hands further into his jean’s pockets, “is he the one?”

Sunwoo stamped his feet, he was listening carefully, trying to understand who they were and where he was but his patience was running out as Changmin had promised him answers. “The one?” he asked, an eyebrow raised. 

“He is, Yena,” Changmin quickly said before anyone could say anything else, like the other one had not talked at all, “and I’ll take care of Hyewon.” 

Sunwoo felt uncomfortable, feeling the two curious looks from the girls analyzing him from top to bottom but he did not lowered his head. 

“You two should probably go then,” Yuri, as Sunwoo had guessed so, said, pointing toward one of the doors. Changmin nodded. 

He grabbed Sunwoo’s wrist, who protested but did not took off his arm from the grip. 

“Thank you,” Changmin sincerely added walking toward the door, dragging a very annoyed Sunwoo behind him, “I know the risk you two have taken.” 

Yena did not answer, looking away. Yuri quietly nodded. Changmin had his hand on the door’s handle when Yuri came near Sunwoo, “do not worry,” she murmured, “everything will make sense soon.” 

He did not had the time to answer anything because Changmin had opened the door and the room disappeared. Sunwoo felt dizzy, the tiredness of the day hitting him hardly as his legs weakened over his own weight. He tried his best to stay standing, his eyes half-closed. 

“No!” Changmin’s screamed, making the other one come back to reality. 

They were now in the mountains. Rocky landscapes all around them, steep cliffs and narrow paths. The dizziness became stronger. However, there was no wind blowing, no plants nor any sign of living life between the stones. He had the strange feeling that time had been stopped. He could not discern more than what was immediately at touch as fogs was surrounding the cliffs’ outlines. Beside Changmin, who was still cursing under his breathe, they were completely alone, and for what Sunwoo knew about it, lost. 

“What’s going on?” he asked, upset, “where are we? You promised explanations, and so did Yuri!” 

He glared at Changmin, accusing. His heart beating fast in his chest, he clenched his fists in an attempt to hide the trembling he was feeling coming in his fingers. He felt like his heart was pulsing loudly in his head, trying to find sense into everything that was happening. 

Changmin turned back to him, his eyes narrowed and the pout on his mouth turned into worried expression. “I’m sorry,” he said to Sunwoo’s surprise. “I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now.”

“Things were not supposed to go that way,” he muttered more to himself than to Sunwoo. 

The other man pulled an angry face and clenched his jaw. 

“Of course it must be so confusing right now, and if you do not want to follow me, I’ll bring you home,” he added, turning around to the now gone door that had led them there, “but if you decide to follow me once more, I promise you’ll have all the explanations you deserve.”

Sunwoo stared at him in silence, his nails piercing through the skin of his palms, hesitantly. A voice in his head was screaming at him that everything was too crazy and that going back home was the only sane thing to do. However, another, tinier yet stronger, voice was shaking with curiosity and inexplicable trust in the strange man in front of him. 

“We’re at the council,” Changmin continued slowly since Sunwoo was not answering nor moving, “the door was supposed to lead us to the elves forest, where Hyewon should have been waiting for us and she would have explained to you everything like I promised.” 

He bitterly looked around him, “for some reason Yena and Yuri betrayed us.” 

Sunwoo felt his heart falling into his heels. “Are we in trouble?” 

“Changmin and Hyewon are,” answered another voice that came out from nowhere, “but you are not.” 

Changmin froze. A man appeared behind one of the stones. He was wearing a uniform, high black boots over as dark pair of pants and an emerald-green jacket over a white shirt with long sleeves. The jacket was enhanced with silvery details and gems, the same kind as what Yena was wearing. Sunwoo noticed a golden ring on his annular that standing out amid all the silver tones. His tone had been soft, although severe, but he was smiling nicely at Changmin like he had not just threatened him. 

“Do not be mad at Yena and Yuri, they didn’t know either,” he added to Changmin’s attention, “they also believed they were fooling the council.” 

“I guess you did not came all the way down here to chitchat with us, Sangyeon?” 

Sangyeon laughed, shaking his head. “I’ll ask you to follow me. Hyewon is already there.” 

Sunwoo winced, looking at the very narrowed path Sangyeon was getting on, between the cliff and what the young man supposed to be the emptiness. 

“Don’t worry, you cannot fall!” Sangyeon said, without even looking at Sunwoo. The latter sighed, he thought about not moving at all, but he had to acknowledge that he had no other solution than following the two men, especially after silently rejecting Changmin’s offer to go back home. However, Changmin grabbed his wrist once again, and pulled him forward. 

“Where are we going?” he whispered as they were starting to climb up, one behind another. Sangyeon was closing the walk, Changmin was in front, apparently knowing very well the way. 

“To the council,” the latter answered, making Sunwoo frowned, expecting answers from Changmin instead. 

Changmin took a deep breath, “the council regulates the three worlds. Three of the most powerful beings from each world dominate it,” he added carefully choosing his words, “they take the final decisions to maintain balance and peace between everyone.” 

“There a few other beings in the council, but in the end those three only are able to decide, they try to be as fair as possible,” he continued, “this place is outside time and space, if you are not part of the council you lose immediately your magical or specific abilities from your species.” 

“Magic is real?” Sunwoo asked, knowing very well his question sounded a bit naive. 

Changmin laughed, “how else can you explain what you are seeing, what you saw and what you did to get here?” 

“Maybe it’s just a dream. Or maybe I’ve turned completely mad.” 

“It can always be real, if you believe in it.” 

Sunwoo stayed silent, considering what he had heard. He felt weird, not quite sure to understand what Changming had meant. If there had been magic in him before, it should have made his life easier a long time ago. They kept walking a bit more. As they were going higher, their surroundings became cleared. Fog turned into pastels and whites, fluffy, clouds. Sunwoo thought about trying to touch them but he contained himself. The path was getting bigger and less scary. Their walk also seemed easier, like his feet was barely touching the ground and that he was barely feeling the effort. 

“That’s why you can be a cat? You’re a magician,” he remarked, breaking the silence. Changmin nodded. “But why did Yena asked if I was the one?” 

Before the other one could answer, Sangyeon made them stop, “we’re here.” 

In front of them was a large and clear square, surrounded by the most enormous mountains he had ever seen, like it was protecting it. Stones had visibly fell down from the mountains but instead of crashing into the ground, they had been stopped in the middle of their fall, holding in the air onto nothing. In the middle of the square big stairs were leading to a very sober stone construction. He spotted a few guards at the bottom and the top of the stairs but no other sign of living life. When they passed next to them, they saluted respectfully Changmin and Sangyeon.

The inside was as sober as the outside. A few tapestries here and there, representing scenes that Sunwoo could not recognize, a huge wooden door on the left right, contrasting with the stones walls. In the center of the room, a big round table. Three chairs were bigger than the others, on those three persons were sitting, a man and two woman. The man, on the right side was smiling gently at them, his chestnut-brown hair were falling on his forehead, he was wearing a large night blue cape, the same color as Sangyeon’s jacket. Next to him, a woman with short hair had turned a fierce look at them when they had entered the room, her bold makeup enhancing the scary feeling she was exhaling. The last woman had long hair, her gaze was totally unreadable, like she was looking at them without seeing them, but her aura was so strong that it made Sunwoo uncomfortable. On the opposite side of the table, two young women were nervously sitting. 

Sunwoo felt Changmin becoming tensed next to him, as his eyes crossed those of one of the girls. 

“They arrived right when you had expected it, Sir Hongki,” Sangyeon said to the man who nodded politely. 

“Hello, Sunwoo,” said the same man, looking directly at him. Sunwoo put his hands in his pockets, not daring to hold his gaze. “You can both sit,” he added pointed two sits next to the girls. 

He followed Changmin, sitting down right near him, confused and nervous. 

“Let’s get to it directly,” the short haired woman immediately started, “I guess you three know very well the rules you have broken.” 

Sunwoo watched Changmin nod without blinking, his head still held high. 

“I’m sorry,” one of the girls said, “I asked them to help me. It’s all my fault.” 

Her eyes were wide open, she was biting one of her nail, but her voice was not shaking. 

“No,” Changmin retorted, “I wanted to help Hyewon, I did it with her.” 

“So did I,” added the last girl, putting her hand over Hyewon’s shoulder. 

Sunwoo stayed silent, wondering if they were expecting him to say something. The man laughed, clapping his hands together, even the woman with long hair seemed amused by them. 

“Minami has been missing for three months now,” Hyewon continued, encouraged by the others, “we had no lead, no clue. Only the prophecy...”

“That’s the first rule you’ve broken Hyewon,” Hongki interrupted her, suddenly serious, “no one shall follow the prophecies, we all know how dangerous they are, especially you must know about it, since you’re all part of the council.” 

“You are examples to follow,” added the last woman. Her voice was firm and her seriousness made Sunwoo shiver. “And Chowon,” she said pointing to the last girl, “you gave them the prophecy’s information and, you two, went to the human world without authorization, using your powers and the doors’ keepers,” she continued pointing this time Hyewon and Changmin.

“And you even brought back someone,” the other woman ended for her, putting her face in her hands, looking with intensity at Sunwoo.

“We are sorry,” repeated Changmin. 

Hyewon stood up brutally, “no one was doing anything! I’m part of the council as you said it so well and I saw you three not doing anything!” she screamed. “We knew this prophecy was matching the events, we knew it was possible that someone out there could end this and bring back all the missing persons but you decided to do nothing, just sit there and watch our loved ones disappear!”

Sunwoo expected them to stop her, yell back at her or scold her but they let her find her breathe back and sat down. “I thought it was worth it to try everything,” she added in a trembling voice her fists clenched over the table.

The entire room fell into a tense silence, only broken by Hyewon’s discreet sobs and Chowon rubbing her back.

“You are right,” Hongki eventually said, to Sunwoo’s surprise. Even the two other women did not seemed really pleased with what he was saying. “It is possible that this young man can rescue those missing.” 

Sunwoo wanted to melt into his chair when everyone looked at him with curious eyes. He had no idea what they were talking about nor how it was possible that he could do anything for something he had never heard about. His heart was beating fast and he slightly moved his chair closer to Changmin who gave him a reassuring look. 

“However, I don’t think you realized the risk you have taken, not for you, but for the balance of the entire world. There is a reason why we do not go to the non magical world except for urgent business.” 

They all nodded politely. “We have discussed what kind of punishment you shall have,” he continued sighing, “me, Eunyoung and Jihyun have come to the agreement that you three all will be remove from the council.” 

Sunwoo felt them gasped next to him, Chowon put a hand over her mouth. 

“Temporarily, for now,” Jihyun said, visibly against her will, “simply because we do not want this case to turn into something big. You’ll return where you are from.”

“What about Sunwoo?” Changmin asked carefully but the other man could sense the anxiety in his voice. 

Eunyoung smiled, like a cat knowing it had caught its prey, “since you brought him here, you’ll have to take care of him, Changmin.” 

The two in question exchanged a confused look. 

“No matter what we want, he is the one from the prophecy, teach him about the world, train his powers, you have some work to do,” she added peacefully. 

Changmin had turned as white as a the fur on his paws as a cat, “I’ll have to stay in the castle with him then?” 

“Hyewon and Chowon will always be there to help you, right?” Hongki mentioned and the girls nodded. 

There obviously was a problem with that fact but Sunwoo did not understand what it was. He suddenly felt upset seeing Changmin so reluctant to stay with him. 

“Fine,” the latter agreed eventually.

Eunyoung stood up first, “you can go now, I better not see any of you in trouble again. We won’t be as nice as we were today.” 

Even Sunwoo nodded to the threat. 

*

“What is the prophecy they have been talking about?” Sunwoo asked when they were going down the stairs outside. Changmin was walking ahead of them, he had not said anything else ever since they had left the room, a frown on his face and Sunwoo was feeling too upset to ask him what was wrong. “What does it have to do with me?” 

“The council keeps all the prophecies,” Chowon explained, “a lot of them are prophecies that already have lost their purpose but some still seem to match. I was the one working to keep them secure, ever since I entered the council there has been this prophecy about a hidden threat and an outsider only could save us.” 

Hyewon nodded, “when you enter the council, you are allowed to discover the prophecies, this one especially has caught everyone’s attention, even before the problem started,” she added. “Everyone here has wondered about the outsider.” 

“What is the prophecy?” he asked again, “if it’s about me, I should know it too.” 

The two girls exchanged a look, a silent question that Sunwoo did not understood. “I’m sorry but it’s forbidden,” Chowon said carefully, “if we are wrong about it, then there is no point in you knowing. And if we are right than, it is too dangerous for someone to know about their own prophecy, it’s like knowing about your own future. It’s not safe to play with it.” 

Sunwoo narrowed his eyes, “isn’t this exactly what you all have been doing? Manipulate the future by trusting a prophecy?” 

Hyewon lowered her head, shameful, and she whispered, “it is. And I’m sorry. I was helpless.” 

“For six months, several persons have been reported missing,” Changmin suddenly intervened before Sunwoo could say something else, “people are randomly disappearing for no reason at all. At first it seemed to be separated incident but soon enough it was obvious there was a pattern and the number of missing persons keeps on growing each day as no one has managed to stop it, or even threaten to stop it.” 

“When Minami went missing,” Chowon continued, taking Hyewon’s hand in hers, “we remembered this prophecy, it fitted so well the hidden threat.” 

Sunwoo looked at Hyewon, “who is Minami?” he asked slowly.

“She’s my daughter,” she must have seen the young man’s confused look because she added, “not my real daughter, of course, but our souls are linked together, she disappeared and so did a part of myself.” 

“It’s kinda like your idea of soulmates in your world,” Changmin commented, “some of us can be lucky enough to have another person that is meant for us, but it is not only about romantic love. Like Minami and Hyewon it can be a family kind of love, or a friendship.” 

Hyewon stopped the entire group, turning to face Sunwoo, her eyes were filled with tears. “That’s why I went looking for you,” she explained in a shaky but firm voice, “if there is a chance to find her, to save her, I had to take it. I had to take every risk possible because for her, our souls are linked forever, I couldn’t stay still. What I did was dangerous, and I am sorry for that, if I could have taken the risk by myself only, I would have done it but I had to involve Chowon and Changmin to find you. I am also sorry for bringing you into all this without being able to be clearer.” 

Sunwoo stared back at her determined gaze, a bit taken aback by the unexpected strength coming out of her but he nodded carefully, feeling the heaviness and importance of her decision. Chowon took Hyewon back in her arms and they started walking back, a bit in front of them. 

“That’s what a soulmate link does,” Changmin whispered, “it is beyond rational or ethical, beyond your own will sometimes.” 

“Do you have a soulmate?” Sunwoo asked him, surprised to hear such a serious tone from the magician. 

Changmin smiled, “I don’t!” he singsonged, “but I have only met Hyewon with Minami so I have seen its effects for a while. I can only imagine what she feels, however that’s why I helped her.” 

Sunwoo nodded once again and they kept on walking in silence. 

“You all think I am the one the prophecy is talking about?” he wondered, feeling the pressure of the task, “I don’t even have any magic in me.” 

“Oh,” Changmin answered, “you do, you just have to work on it now, a few classes and you’ll understand.” 

“Classes? Am I going to school?” the other one choked out. 

Changmin eventually turned to him, suddenly all smiling, “something like that, yeah!” 

*

Yena and Yuri had apologized several times to Changmin and Hyewon, looking horrified when they had learned they had been kicked out of the council, so much that Sunwoo thought Yuri was going to cry. Thankfully, they had not been themselves into much trouble, just a very long and unpleasant lecture from Eunyoung, which the young man could only imagine how terrifying it must have been, even with the very little time he had spent in front of her. They actually had stopped apologizing when they had learned Changmin’s new duty, falling into a very deep and sincere laughing that the latter did not share at all, and that Sunwoo did not quite understand. 

After long goodbyes, and asking for more forgiveness, they opened another door for them and when Sunwoo opened his eyes, once again that day, he was in a very large room, thoughtfully decorated. The ceiling was so far up that he could barely see it with his two eyes. He thought that the huge windows would gave the room a bright and warm luminosity during the day but, as the night had fallen outside, the stars’ light was reflecting on it. On the fancy wallpapers, paintings and tapestries had been placed methodically, enhanced with gold filaments here and there. The floor was covered with marble flagstones. The entire place smelt like luxury, and yet, it still felt cozy. 

“I can’t believe you’re really back,” a feminine voice said. 

Hyewon’s face lighted up a little bit, “Minju!” she yelled happily to the girl who had just talk, jumping into her arms. 

Minju was a pretty girl, long brown hair falling into gentle waves on her shoulders and her smile showed white and bright teeth, she irradiated a warm aura. She was wearing a night blue long bustier dress, the bottom part of it was flaring and decorated with silver filaments, forming random patterns. 

“She is Hyewon’s sister,” Changmin whispered in his ear, making him shudder. Minju was now holding Chowon lovingly in her arms.

However she turned a cold stare toward Changmin, who still smiled the same way. “Didn’t you miss me too?” he asked, opening his arms for a hug too. She just shrugged and winced, and the man laughed. 

She came near Sunwoo, “I’ve heard it’s your first time here,” she said, back to a nice and gentle smile in front of him, and he wondered what kind of problem she had with Changmin, “welcome to the Kingdom of Arcadia, I am one of the adviser for the King,” she added proudly, “the crown Prince is eager to meet you tomorrow.” 

Sunwoo simply raised an eye brow. “Thank you?” he eventually answered, not knowing what she was talking about. 

She did not seem to mind the lack of enthusiasm from him as she turned prettily in her dress, walking to the door, “follow me, I’ll show you all your room. I believe you must be tired.” 

At her words he brutally felt the tiredness in his entire body and mind. He thought about his own room and Haknyeon who had probably waited all day for him to come home. “I have a home,” he corrected her, “and a roommate, Haknyeon, he must wonder where I am. Can’t I sleep there?” 

Minju and Hyewon exchanged a look and both turned to Changmin, who scratched his head awkwardly. 

“Actually, you can’t,” he explained softly, “when you entered this world, your existence has been erased from the mind of everyone who had known you on your world.” 

Sunwoo stared at him, blankly, he felt an unpleasant pressure in his heart. “I’ve been… erased?” he repeated, the words escaping his throat with difficulty. “But you told me I could go back home any time.” 

The magician seemed even more embarrassed and Minju looked daggers at him. “You could have but it’s too late now.” 

He quickly added, his eyes wide open with stress when he saw the sadness in Sunwoo’s eyes, “they’ll remember you if they see you again!” He stopped his hand a few centimeters away from Sunwoo like he had wanted to touch or hold him to reassure him but did not know if he should. The latter looked at the girls who all approved Changmin’s words silently. “It’s a spell that surrounds our world, to protect us.” 

“I see,” Sunwoo said a bit too quietly.

Seeing that the situation had been fixed, the girls immediately started walking, leading the way and talking about subjects Sunwoo did not understand at all, so he stayed in the back with Changmin.

“I should have told you,” the magician said, “I’m sorry.” 

Sunwoo frowned and shrugged, “I guess it’s better that Haknyeon doesn’t remember me. He won’t be worried,” he answered trying to convince himself more than anything else. When Changmin tried to add something, he quickly changed the subject, “Minju doesn’t seem to like you,” he whispered.

“She’s probably a bit mad at me,” he answered, a bit confused by the sudden question yet relieved. 

“Why would she?” he asked with curiosity. 

Changmin smiled awkwardly, “a lot of people are!” 

They walked a bit in silence. The room had let its place to a very long corridor, still as beautifully decorated, and Sunwoo understood that they were in a castle, probably the King’s one like Minju had mentioned him. The corridor was almost empty, only a few working people politely saluted them. He did not let his mind wonder more about the kingdom he apparently was in, eager to ask one question.

“You seemed upset by the council’s punishment,” he muttered, looking straight in front of him. 

“Uh?” Changmin answered. 

Sunwoo snorted, “having to stay with me,” he said under his breath. 

The other man stayed silent, he thought he had not heard him. “You are the one who brought me here you shouldn’t complain about it now,” he immediately added in a grumpy voice, “and I could have went back home if you hadn’t insisted.” 

“It’s not because of you,” the magician interrupted him, “it’s more that Minju will probably be the nicest person here with me.” 

“But, she hates you.” 

“She did not try to kill me, I even might think she actually likes me. Or maybe it’s because Hyewon told her so?” he singsonged cheerfully like it was nothing, and Sunwoo understood that it was a habit of his to speak that way. 

Sunwoo looked finally at him, disbelief in his eyes but Changmin was seriously taking it lightheartedly. 

“I have been quite a troublemaker here when I was a student,” the magician eventually confessed, “if I had not been such a talented magician, I believe the Queen would have exiled me, or worse. I agree that maybe I do like a bit too much to test the limits and experiment with magic, but that’s also how I learned how to master it.” 

Changmin laughed, “also I was easily bored and everyone was so uptight about everything!”

“What kind of trouble did you cause?” 

“Nothing that would have put seriously someone in danger, just one or two self discovered potions and spells...” 

In front of them, the girls stopped, interrupting their conversation. “You’ll stay here, Sunwoo,” Minju said pointing at a door, “since you’ll be a student here, we gave you a student room so you’ll have a roommate. He also just arrived in the kingdom, his name is Eric.” 

She turned to the others, “you can all have your old room back, I think you’ll find your way here fine. Nothing has changed, even if it’s been a long time since you’ve been here.” She looked at her sister with a loving gaze. 

“Do not worry!” Changmin answered with an enormous smile, “I still remember everything here.” 

Hyewon punched him on the shoulder, Chowon smiled, shaking her head and Minju just rolled her eyes. “Goodnight, we’ll come in the morning to show you around, Sunwoo,” the adviser said, a bit too coldly. 

Sunwoo nodded but Minju was already gone. 

“Do not mess with her too much,” Hyewon remarked to Changmin. 

The latter pretended to whine, “but it’s fun, you know how of a scaredycat she is! If I have to follow classes again, with Sunwoo, I’ll need to have a bit of fun and messing with people is my favorite kind of fun.”

Hyewon rolled her eyes, exactly like Minju had just did. “Goodnight Sunwoo,” she said instead of answering, “I hope you rest well, tomorrow will be a big day for you.” 

Chowon whispered the same words and they left hand in hand. 

“What did you do here?” Sunwoo asked again. 

The other guy winked, “that’s a story for another time, curious little boy! Sleep well, I’ll come also tomorrow morning.” 

On this, he happily bounced away, leaving a pouting Sunwoo in the corridor. “I’m not a little boy,” he muttered for himself. He stayed a moment alone outside of what was now his room, anxious about opening the door to this roommate he had never expected to met, in a world he had never even dared to imagine could exist, with a sudden and heavy pressure on his shoulders. After a few deep breathes, and the anxiety taken over by the tiredness that he could feel in each and every of his muscles, not even letting his brain overthink the situation, he opened the door. 

The room was sunk into darkness, contrasting with the bright lights from the corridor, making him immediately sleepy. Yet he still managed to spot the empty bed. His roommate, Eric, as Minju had named him, was peacefully sleeping on the other bed, and Sunwoo silently thanked him for not having to introduce himself or talk to anyone else on that day. Guided by the stars’ light from outside the window and his senses, he found a pajama folded on his bed and he quietly changed into it. The texture was so comfy, it felt like the clothes itself were giving him a hug, making him fall even more into sleepiness. Still discreetly, he slid into the blanket. The bed was warm and extremely comfortable. 

Sunwoo closed his eyes and let a last thought wonder about his other roommate, Haknyeon, and if he had been worried not to see him coming back after his work shift. Then, he fell into a deep and profound sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, if you enjoy this don't forget to leave a kudo, or even a comment, it'd be highly appreciated <3   
> follow me on twitter : @woobrioche


	3. The Prince (and magic lesson)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!  
> thank you for bearing with me, work has been killing me lately but i had a will to post this tonight so I did it and corrected everything, thank you for waiting, for reading, for enjoying i love you all
> 
> also yes there is always more iz*one members, i'm sorry, i just am in love with them too

*

Sunwoo woke up with the strange feeling that someone was watching him. Although he did not want to move, curling himself a bit more into the soft blanket of his bed, mentally taking the note to curse at Haknyeon for entering his room without his authorization. The strange throat clearing, that did not sound like something Haknyeon would do at all, made him open one eye. The sun was shining so brightly inside the room, too brightly for an autumn morning, hurting his sight, and he suddenly remembered. 

He turned his face to meet the eyes of a stranger and a scream escaped his lips as he curled himself up at the top of his bed, bringing the sheets with him to cover him. The stranger answered with a scream too, bouncing back, his eyes widened up. Minju’s words came back in Sunwoo’s memories, faded sounds from the day before he difficultly could believe had been real. A roommate. Eric.

“Who are you?!” the latter asked, a worried tone in his voice, “how did you get in here? I thought the doors only opened to the one living in the room.” 

He was talking quickly, moving his head and arms as the words came out of his mouth, making his blonde locks dance all around his forehead. “Are you here to attack me?” he asked again, clenching his fits, looking suspiciously at Sunwoo. 

“I don’t think I’d be sleeping if I wanted to attack you,” the young man answered very slowly, still curled up as far as possible from the other one.

Eric seemed to acknowledge his reasoning and a bit of tension left his body. Sunwoo took a closer look at him. He looked smaller and also younger than him, probably due to the fact that his pink pajama was recovering even the tip of his fingers. His long blonde hair was falling on his forehead until his eyes. Between the locks, he could notice his thick eyebrows, that accentuated the expressions on his face. 

“I have been assigned this room, late yesterday,” he explained, articulating every word not very sure of who was in front of him, “you were already sleeping and I did not want to wake you up.” 

His new roommate was still staring at him, not moving at all. Sunwoo made the first gesture, putting the blanket away from his body. “My name is Sunwoo.” 

“I’m Eric,” he answered, still a bit wary. “Thank you for not waking me up. I expected a roommate to come eventually but I didn’t receive any new about you.” 

“I don’t think they had the new I was coming,” he muttered back, more to himself than to Eric. “Thank you for not attacking me.” 

Eric shrugged, “I actually do not know a lot about controlling my magic yet, I thought trying would only cause another accident.” 

Sunwoo let out a worried “ah”, analyzing the visibly harmless boy and wondering what kind of accident he could have already made. 

“What about you?” 

“What about me, what?” 

Eric laughed, “magic, are you good?” he questioned, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. The tension and wariness had completely left his body language as he sat down on Sunwoo’s bed like they had known each other forever. 

He felt a bit uncomfortable, “actually,” he cleared his throat, “I’ve never...” 

“You’ve never done magic?!” his roommate choked out, putting a hand over his mouth. Sunwoo pouted, a frown appearing on his forehead, embarrassment becoming stronger, putting pressure on his chest. 

“I didn’t know I could before yesterday.”

He kept for himself that he actually believed there had been some kind of misunderstanding, that Changmin and Hyewon had found the wrong person for the whatever thing they were talking about, and that they would probably notice it soon enough and send him back home once they will realized he could not do any of their magic. However, Eric smiled gently at him, instead of being more surprised. 

“That’s okay. I’ve known I could do magic ever since I was born yet I still have a lot to learn and it’s not easy for me either. We will be able to learn together!” 

Sunwoo could not answer to his enthusiasm as someone knocked on the door. He got up quickly, too embarrassed by Eric’s unexpected kindness, and ran to open the door. He thought about closing it as soon as he saw Changmin’s smile. “Still in your pajamas?” the latter asked playfully, “damn you lazybones! Thankfully I’m here, with clothes for you.” 

He did not wait for any invitation and entered the room, he was carrying a bunch of clothes in his arms that he immediately gave to Sunwoo. Eric quietly pointed at a door, on the opposite side of the room, that he had not seen the night before. 

“I hope you slept well,” Changmin continued, following Sunwoo as he was crossing the room, “I have plenty to show you today, we’ll actually have to attend classes though, I think Minju is gonna check. Weirdly, she doesn’t trust me much...”

He stopped, bumping into Sunwoo who had stopped brutally, his feet in the bathroom door frame. “Stop following me,” he said dryly. 

Eric was looking at them with curiosity. Changmin’s eyes turned into two round balls of surprise, “you’re shy?” he wondered, falsely innocently. 

Sunwoo took a very long deep breath and just closed the door of the bathroom on his annoying smiling face.  
“I can still talk to you!” he yelled from the opposite side of the door. The other one just sighed but did not answer anything, proceeding on taking off his pajamas. 

Like the bedroom he had slept into, the bathroom was looking more modest than the rest of the castle. Although the floor was still made of marble, the golden decoration over the wallpapers had been replaced by a more simple and sober white, with night blue stripes here and there. However, the bathroom was big, probably the size of his old bedroom, and a beautiful bathtub had been placed in the middle of it, as well as a shower. The metal of it was sparkling under the day light coming from the window. 

Changmin’s voice came from the other room, “by the way, the Prince wants to see you before anything else this morning, so hurry up.” 

Snapping out from his own mind, Sunwoo grabbed the clothes he had been given, realizing that it was a uniform in the same night blue shade as Minju’s dress. He put on the tight pants and the shirt, the fullness of the sleeves startled him a bit, as he had never been used to wear such dated style. With a frown, he also put the jacket. He opened the door right when Changmin was about to knock on it. They stared at each other a second, the other guy’s face was completely lacking of any kind of expression, something that looked odd on him. He felt his gaze analyzing from top to bottom but he quickly took a step back and went back to his usual teasing look. 

“You’re slow,” he said. 

Sunwoo rolled his eyes, “you’re annoying.” 

Eric cleared his throat, awkwardly. “Excuse me but, why is there again someone I have never seen in my room?” 

Changmin looked like he was relieved to have a reason to turn around from Sunwoo as he faced the other boy. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “right, I’m Ji Changmin. I’m the one who brought this grumpy guy here.” 

Sunwoo choked. 

“I was part of the council,” the magician explained, not minding at all the offended noises coming from behind him, “but now, I’m just showing him around.” 

Eric seemed impressed, “the council? You must be an amazing magician!” he said with enthusiasm. Sunwoo looked at him, raising an interrogative eye brow, Changmin brushed away the compliment with a sign of his hand. “But why aren’t you in the council anymore?” 

“Long story,” Changmin answered, “you must be Eric. I guess you’ll be sharing classes with Sunwoo, right? Minju said you arrived not too long ago.” 

The boy nodded, with the same energy, although, he was still staring at Changmin with curiosity. “Can I ask you another question?” he wondered and the magician agreed with a nod, “why would Minju not trust you? She’s so nice, I don’t even think she could be upset at anyone...” 

“Well, we used to be in the same class,” Changmin answered thoughtful, “and it was fine but then I tried to invoke ghosts with a spell and it created a big mess around here.” 

“You did what?” scoffed Sunwoo who had been silently listening.  
Eric was visibly torn apart between scared and impressed. Changmin turned to Sunwoo, proud of himself, “you’ll probably hear about it today! But they’re only mad because I succeeded. I never thought ghosts would be that angry to come back, though.” 

Sunwoo rolled his eyes, “you’re really crazy,” he muttered. 

Changmin faked a sad pout, “Eric said I was an amazing magician, I prefer that.” 

Eric looked at Sunwoo apologetically. The magician walked toward the door, “anyway,” he said, “it was great talking to you but we must go see the Prince now.” 

“Wait!” Eric said, stopping Changmin from opening the door. “Can I come with you? I’ve always wanted to see the Prince...” 

Changmin did not hesitate, “the more, the merrier!” he singsong and Eric’s eyes started to sparkle. 

*

Compared to what Sunwoo had seen the night before, walking in the castle during the day was even more impressive. The place was not huge, it was enormous. What he had already thought was already over the top was actually nothing. The corridors could fit an entire army, and the glances he could get of outside through the windows made his jaw drop. It seemed like the palace was surrounded by a beautiful, green, luxurious and gigantic garden. Eric had to push him forward several times, feeling him slowing down in front of the water fountains in which the water was moving up and down, creating spirals and abstract yet mesmerizing forms. 

They passed by many people, some that Eric politely greeted, some more that whispered between them seeing Changmin who did not mind it at all. Everyone seemed different from what Sunwoo had ever seen. Most of them wear wearing the same colors as the uniforms he and, right before they had left the room, Eric had put on. However the styling was various; long and heavy dresses, fancy shirts, high boots and extravagant jackets on which the details would move on the fabric. He spotted a few persons whose hair changed colors randomly as they walked by, twisting themselves into complicated hairstyles. 

Besides other humans, few pets were wandering freely in the castle. Sunwoo blinked a few times seeing a pink cat sleeping on a window’s edge. 

“Are they human too?” Sunwoo asked Changmin, “like you are?” 

Changmin, who he had noticed had glanced to him from time to time, a content smile on his lips, laughed. “No, that’s not a common thing. Only a few of us can do that.” 

“Like you were born with it?” 

The magician shook his head. Behind them, Eric was listening carefully. 

“It’s a complicated level of magic,” Changmin explained, “not everyone has the ability to ever achieve it.” 

“Is it true that it gives you automatically a place in the council?” Eric wondered shyly.

Changmin turned around to him, “it’s one of the requirement. It shows you are a capable magician.” 

Sunwoo stayed silent, thoughtful. He considered Changmin’s thin body, his playful grin and the way he seemed to turn everything into a joke, his small face that would often portray him like a child with his big and sparkling eyes. He wondered what kind of powers his figure was really hiding. 

“Stop staring at me,” the magician said, not looking at all at Sunwoo. 

The latter blushed and pout, “I’m not staring at you,” he muttered. 

Changmin just scoffed and Sunwoo moved next to Eric, grumbling. The throne room, where the Prince was waiting for them, was far away from their room, so Eric started to explain to him his daily life in the castle. 

Eric was not from the Kingdom as he explained to Sunwoo in a very energetic and enthusiast voice. He had been born in a little city in the countryside and his parents had even thought about skipping his magical education so that he could work with them in their house. However, Eric had insisted for months and they had eventually agreed to let their only son go. Sunwoo could not help but smile at the way the young boy was telling his story, his energy was contaminating and he listened carefully to all his words. 

“The castle is easily offended,” Eric said after telling him about his first magic classes, that apparently ended up in various type of explosions from him and his teachers staring horrified at him, “after that, it made the door of my room disappear. I had to ask Minju for help, probably the most embarrassing thing ever.” 

“What do you mean the castle has feelings?” Sunwoo asked, worried, analyzing the walls around them. 

Changmin, who had been silently walking in front of them, laughed and pretended to hide it in a cough. 

Eric did not mind the interruption at all, “it’s made out of magic material so it feels, to some extent. Mostly, it doesn’t like to be hurt, so do not try to light up a fireplace, unless you’re sure it won’t create an entire fire, or else going to the bathroom will start to be very complicated.” 

Sunwoo tried to see on Eric’s face if he was joking but, although he did not seem upset by it, he was completely serious. He sighed, taking the mental note of what he had just said, and making sure he was not touching the walls with his body. 

“How’s classes here?” he asked, changing the subject. 

“Mostly practice, games even sometimes,” Eric started. 

Changmin slowed down getting at the latter’s level, “you’ll have to learn how to invoke your magic. Since you’ve spent so long without being aware of it, it has been hidden in the depth of your being but it’s still here.” 

“How do you know it? Maybe it’s not hidden, it’s just not here.” his voice came out a bit more dryly than he had expected it but the magician did not mind it. 

He thought for a second before answering in a very calm voice, choosing carefully his words, “you would have never been able to enter the theater if you were not a part of our world, Sunwoo. It would have been just an abandoned place for you and you would have turned over, go back to your home and forget about it.” 

Eric made himself even tinier, understanding he was not a part of this discussion.

“You’re a magician like me or Eric, everything here will help you to bring this part of you back at the top of yourself. You’ll learn to use it, control it and make the best out of it, it’s in you, you have to believe it.” 

“Then, why wasn’t I already here?” 

Changmin looked in his eyes, probably not fooled by Sunwoo’s hostile gaze hiding his nervousness, “I don’t know,” he sincerely answered. 

They stayed silent for a moment until the magician broke the eye contact, getting back to his usual self. 

“We’re here,” he happily announced. 

*

The Prince, whose name was Juyeon, looked exactly like Sunwoo had expected him to be. He welcomed them into a more personal room, after they had followed a guard when they had entered the throne room, with a smile on his face, a lock of his black hair falling gracefully over his forehead. He looked majestic into his outfit, the night blue color looking even more deep yet shiny on him than any other of his subjects. On the top of his head, a silver crown, set with dark gems and over his shoulder a long cape. He had a nice gaze, that flinched a bit when his eyes fell on Changmin, but he showed nothing more, obviously used to a certain attitude in front of people. His smile was warm, and his entire being exhaled respect. In front of the handsome man, Sunwoo was sure he heard Eric gasp. 

Hyewon and Minju were already in the room when they had arrived, sitting around a table, in which the Prince Juyeon invited them after introducing himself. Sunwoo carefully sat next to Changmin, not forgetting to take Eric with him as the boy did not seem to be able to move by himself, still looking at the Prince. Soon enough, people entered with trays filled with food and beverages, putting everything on the table under Sunwoo’s curious eyes. 

The food was nothing compared to what Sunwoo had ever seen, nothing that he could recognize surely. The drinks were bubbly, sparkling as they were poured into crystal glasses, their colors were changing from glass to glass, shining like a liquid rainbow. The plates were filled with what looked like desserts, pies, muffins, cupcakes and other types of cakes that were either into extravagant forms or unbelievable colors, the cream on top of it was iridescent, reflecting the light that was coming from outside. Sunwoo looked at the almost mirror-like icing, dripping on the plates the cakes had been put on, wondering what kind of taste all of this strange food had. 

Even odder to him, he tried to analyze the smells that caught up on his nose. He tried to discreetly sniff it, trying to figure out what could the ingredients be but, even if everything looked and smelt sugary, he found no familiar smells. Everything was far from the bakeries he knew, or the breakfast he could have eaten. He still felt his stomach growl, a reminder that he had not eat anything for a few hours now, and the smells and look of what was in front of him were still appealing.  
Everyone started to dig into the food, but he stayed still, analyzing every piece to find the one that looked the most like what he had been used to eat. Changmin saw him and the tiny piece on his plate and he took some more on his own to put them on Sunwoo’s plate, without saying a word. He met Sunwoo’s interrogating look as he poured another beverage, that seemed to look and smell like chocolate, if he could find something similar in his knowledge. 

“It’s good,” the magician whispered, “try it.” 

Sunwoo pouted, but took the silver spoon and took a bite of a round tartlet. The top of it was completely transparent, glossy, and the yellow inside seemed to literally be liquid gold. He felt Changmin looking at him, himself drinking a white beverage on which purple traces were dancing. 

It did tasted good. He could not describe it, as he had never had such kind of flavor on his mouth. Something like sweet and soft like honey, sugary enough to make him crave for more but not too much to not disgust him. He suddenly felt eager to try ever more of all the bakeries on the table. Changmin must have seen his eyes filled with contentment and he smiled at him tenderly, but he did not say anything. 

“I know Minju already did it but, I would like to welcome you to the Kingdom of Arcadia, Sunwoo,” the Prince Juyeon’s voice suddenly said, making every noise around him disappear. All the workers left the room, leaving the guests alone. 

Sunwoo raised his eyes from his plate and slowly nodded. “Thank you,” he answered, not really comfortable. 

“I wanted to meet you,” the Prince continued delicately, “since the council especially recommended that the Kingdom would take care of your magical education. Although I am not quite sure why.” 

His gaze fell on Changmin and Hyewon who both suddenly focused on their food and the Prince shrugged. 

“I am not quite sure why, either,” Sunwoo answered boldly. 

The Prince chuckled gently, and Eric dropped his spoon. “Anyway,” he continued with the same gentle but serious tone, “you can consider Arcadia as your home now, if you need anything, you can ask me or Minju.”

Sunwoo raised an eyebrow, wondering if the Prince was doing this with everyone but before he could ask anything, Juyeon was looking at Eric and added, “so can you,” very gently. 

Eric almost choked at what he had heard and had to drink all his glass very quickly to be able to answer with a very shy yet wholesome nod. Although he had not known him for a while, Sunwoo thought he would have never guess the young boy could be this quiet. 

“You do not have to worry, Juyeon,” Changmin intervened, “the council asked for me to stay with him.” 

The Prince looked worried for a quick second, “oh, you are staying? Here, in Arcadia?” 

“No one told you?” he said innocently. 

The other one glanced at Minju who just shrugged desperately.  
“As long as you are not causing too much trouble, Changmin,” Juyeon muttered, suddenly losing all his prince abilities to turn into the young adult that he really was, rolling his eyes. 

Hyewon talked before he could answer anything else, “he’ll not. Thank you so much for letting us stay here, you and the Queen,” she politely said, looking daggers at Changmin. 

“To be honest,” the Prince continued, obviously embarrassed, “this is not entirely selfless.”

He paused. Everyone was looking at him, intrigued, except for Minju who seemed to already know what this was about. 

“The Queen is worried,” he started, playing with his fork nervously, “the number of missing people is alarming and it doesn’t seem to be stopping or slowing down.” 

Sunwoo focused all his attention to the words coming out of the Prince’s mouth, eager to understand the situation he had only briefly heard about. 

“You probably know this, since you were all in the Council, but there is only one race that hasn’t been touched by this.” 

Hyewon nodded, “the vampires,” she whispered. 

Sunwoo raised his head, his brow furrowed, many more questions appearing on his head but before he could ask anything, Changmin discreetly kicked his thigh. He crossed his look, offended, but the magician silently articulated a “later”. 

“Does Arcadia believe it’s their doing?” Hyewon asked, not hiding at all the sudden despise tone in her voice. 

The Prince took an even calmer voice, which Sunwoo did not think it was possible, “we have no idea of what is really going on. We can not risk the peace between us, everyone still remembers what we have lost for it.” 

Beside him, Sunwoo felt Eric slightly nod, a tint of sadness on his face. He was even more confused about what was happening. 

“We tried to contact the High Families of Avalon but, as we expected, they’re not really receptive. We’re just glad to have two of our most powerful magicians back in the Kingdom, back as magicians. Not as members of the council,” he distinctly articulated.

A heavy silence fell on everyone around the table, broken by some awkward clinging of their spoons and forks on the plates. 

“I guess all of this is unofficial?” Changmin eventually said, his voice sharp. 

Juyeon nodded, “of course. Everything that I told you must stay in this room.” 

His gaze fell on Sunwoo and Eric who both agreed with a sign of their head. They exchanged a look. Eric’s eyes were wide opened, shocked about everything he had heard. However Sunwoo felt weird. He did not quite understood what Juyeon meant, he only felt the urgency of the situation. 

“There’s something else,” the Prince let out, worried. “Jacob has gone missing.”  
Even Eric appeared to be hurt by the new. Sunwoo looked at Changmin, an eyebrow raised. But Minju caught him and started to explain.

“Jacob is the castle’s librarian,” she said patiently to him, “he is also the history and magic theory teacher here, he should have been yours too but we will have to find a substitute teacher.” 

The Prince agreed, “he holds all the Kingdom knowledge, and even more. The books he studies and guards are one of the most precious yet difficult object to understand.”

He looked at everyone around the table before adding with a sigh, “we might have to need to go to Alfeim, I’ll need you. We need to have a meeting to talk about the disappearances, something unofficial and discreet that the High Families of Avalon can not find out about. The situation is too alarming.” 

“We will come with you,” Hyewon said for all of them and Sunwoo noticed in her eyes the same determination yet despair he had seen the day before, “as you said, we’re not part of the council anymore. Nothing is holding us.” 

Sunwoo thought about the warning Eunyoung had told them at the council. He looked at Changmin who was nodding to what Hyewon had said. 

“I thought you would stay with me here?” he blurted out suddenly. 

All the eyes turned to him. 

Changmin smiled, “oh but you’re coming with us too!” 

Sunwoo opened his mouth to say something but seeing the Prince agreeing, he closed it, only sighing. 

“There is a few things we have to adjust with Alfeim, it might take a week or two,” Juyeon explained to him, “so please, feel free to take your marks in Arcadia until then.” 

*  
“Vampires?” Sunwoo said out loud once they got out of the room. Changmin nodded, and Eric stared at him, fascinated. “I’ve understood about elves, but vampires are real too? But don’t they drink your blood?” 

Changmin winced, “they used to.” He saw Sunwoo’s terrified face and immediately added, “they’ve changed, it was one of the truce’s agreements. They drink animal blood now.” 

The young man still felt disgusted by that fact. “Do they live here?” 

“No,” Eric answered, “there are three main lands, Arcadia, here, Alfeim, where the elves and fairies live, and Avalon where vampires live. Each land is clearly demarcated and has its own system, mixing up has never been an option.” 

“You’ll learn about the history,” Changmin explained, “like Minju told you, Jacob should have been teaching you...” 

He pouted, annoyed. 

“How come a librarian know so much?” Sunwoo wondered, curiously. 

Changmin shook his head, “he’s not just a librarian,” he precised, emphasizing on the last word, “that is why everyone is so worried about him missing. What he knows about our world, our politics and our history is beyond what anyone else will be able to learn in their lives. I believe there’s no one else that can hold so much power through books and archives. Of course, except Chowon since she has access to the council’s archives.” 

Sunwoo nodded, trying to mentally add up all the information he had heard. “And the vampires kidnapped him? Like the others? Hyewon talked about it too, yesterday,” he recalled. 

“We don’t know who did it,” Changmin corrected quickly, “Juyeon was simply having a theory, we should not accuse them of anything without being sure, the truce between the races is still fresh and fragile.” 

He frowned his nose, obviously upset. Sunwoo looked at him. “You do not seem pleased,” he observed.

“I am not, I guess Juyeon knows best about what he is doing, but I do not like those suspicions.” 

Eric tilted his head, “I think the Prince is pretty awesome,” he confessed. 

Changmin immediately found back his playful smile, “you seem to like him,” he teased. 

The young boy’s cheeks turned bright red and he looked at his feet, “it’s my first time meeting him but he is the Prince, that’s pretty impressive. I’ve heard about him when I was living with my parents already, just to know that I was living in the same castle as he was seemed amazing but being able to meet him was something else.” 

The two other men exchanged a knowing look. 

“Do you know him personally, Changmin?” Sunwoo asked. 

“We shared the same classes, with Hyewon and Minju,” he explained and Eric whistled, impressed, “he’s a very nice and capable person. That’s why I’ll trust him.” 

“Do you think he’ll agree if Eric comes with us?” he whispered, since they were passing by a few persons, “to Alfeim.” 

Eric seemed surprised by the question but his eyes were hopeful. Changmin looked at him, “since you know already about it, I guess it will not be a problem.” 

Sunwoo smiled at Eric. 

Changmin started to walk faster, “I think we should hurry up if we don’t want to be late for your first official class,” he added and Sunwoo wondered how he knew what time it was. 

*

The classroom looked nothing like a classroom. It was simply a very big room with walls in the color of the Kingdom and floor covered in a soft white fabric, making Sunwoo wonder about what kind of exercise they would have to do. They did not arrived late, but only about ten other students were in the class, waiting patiently for the teacher. Sunwoo hid himself behind Changmin, while Eric was chatting with his other friends. 

Before he could start to ask questions to Changmin, their teacher appeared in the middle of the room, teleported from nowhere. Sunwoo stared at the man that was now standing in front of them with anxiety, and also a bit of fascination. He was shocked to see how young he looked, having expected some kind of old man with white long hair and beard. When the teacher’s eyes fell on Changmin, his expression went from shocked to complete disbelief. 

“Mr Ji Changmin,” he announced loudly, in a clear voice that made everyone silent, “I thought we had managed to get rid of you.” 

His mouth turned into a joking smile but the seriousness in his tone, a bit mixed with tiredness, showed his true feelings. Changmin did not blinked at those words. 

“The council sent me to take care of one of your new student, Sir Choi, I guess you have been told about it!” 

The professor’s eyes moved to Sunwoo, who, against his will, showed up behind Changmin. “Ah, yes, I have been told. Welcome, mister?” 

“Kim Sunwoo,” he introduced himself as loudly as he could knowing very well the other students were staring at him and at Changmin with curiosity. 

“You have missed a few weeks of class, but it’ll be okay, I’ll get back to basis with you, which will not be too much to ask for some other students,” he added looking slightly toward Eric’s direction, “also, even if he is troublemaker, Mr Ji Changmin being here will be a great help.”

Sunwoo stared at him, unable to say or do something. He had not been in front of a teacher for several years now. He had ended high school a few years ago, and had decided to not apply for any college. Education was for him a waste of time as much as a profound anguish. Considering how complicated it would have been for him to sign up to university, he had quickly dropped the idea, no matter how hard his teachers had insisted on its importance back in his last year of school. Instead, the young man had started to work immediately. The simple fact to be once again surrounded with students, in a studious atmosphere made him uncomfortable. He had never been one to make friends easily nor a good student. Even after moving out with Haknyeon, who was a college student, and seeing him study, he had thought this life was not one for him. He was completely unable to focus in class or in a one subject, nor to stay disciplined in front of a teacher. 

The teacher added after a pause, making Sunwoo come back to reality, “after all, he is a magician for the council. Now, everyone change into your class clothes, please.” 

On those words, every student started to move. Sunwoo looked at them with fear moving their hands in front of their bodies and seeing their clothes change into sports outfits easily, in a matter of second, everyone had changed like it had been nothing. 

“How...” Sunwoo muttered but Changmin had already turned to face him. 

“Picture your clothes,” he whispered back, “see them clearly in your mind, close your eyes to focus more, picture you wearing those clothes and then imagine you with the sports’ ones. Finally, move your hand in front of your body.” 

“I don’t think I can do that Changmin.”

“You do not have to think, you have to feel.” 

Sunwoo looked at him, his eyes shaking with panic as the time they were wasting talking was becoming was ticking on his head and the looks from the other students were heavier. Changmin got closer to him and took his hand. “Close your eyes,” he murmured, articulating carefully. 

The warmth coming from them touching appeased him slightly and he followed the instruction.  
“Picture the clothes, in your mind,” Changmin continued, repeating the same things with patience and softness, “do you see it?” 

The other boy nodded, surprise to discover that he did. He could see himself easily, wearing the clothes he had put on in the morning first, clearly like a photography. He focused a bit more and slowly the clothes changed into the same kind of outfit the others already had. 

“Good,” Changmin’s voice sounded like it was inside his head but it did not made him lose focus, on the contrary, it reinforced the image. 

Without another word, he felt the magician move his hand for him. A tingling sensation was appearing at the tip of his finger, his heart beat became a bit faster and a new kind of energy rushed through his veins. He felt the texture of his clothes change on his skin as his hand was moving, held by Changmin. 

He opened his eyes when the magician let go of his hand, and discovered that he was now wearing the outfit he had pictured so clearly. Changmin was looking at him, hands on his waist, with a smile. 

“Did I...?” Sunwoo started but did not finished, unable to formulate a real question, “or, did you?” 

“You did. You felt it, right?” 

Sunwoo moved his head, agreeing, the tingles in his finger had not left, although it was starting to fade away, but the energy was still moving around his body. 

The magician took a step back, “I told you, you had magic too, Sunwoo.” 

Before he could answer anything, the teacher clapped his hands, “if everyone is ready, we’re gonna start with the very basic of magic, visualizing.”

He analyzed everyone quickly, “I see you all manage to master the simplest form of it with your outfits. Plain and easy fabric to picture, so we’ll move to the next level,” as he was talking, his hands were moving in front of his body, his clothes were changing into various outfits. At first, plain shirts on which appeared quickly elaborated sleeves and cuts, fabrics of different colors and textures, and finally, fancy decorations, pearls, lines, laces and embroideries that started to animate themselves. 

Every students was watching him with attention. Sunwoo was completely frozen seeing how easy the teacher was making it look like when he had struggled to picture the simplest form. He peaked a look at the other students and found a bit of comfort in seeing them impressed and confused too. 

“When it comes to make objects appear, the plain ones are easy,” the teacher said once he was done with his demonstration, “complicated objects mean more details to focus on, which, if not practiced enough, can result in failing the entire apparition.” 

Sir Choi stared at his students, thoughtful, for a second. “I’ll give you ten minutes to create the most detailed object possible. It can be a decorative object or a useful one, you are free to choose.” 

Sunwoo frowned, wishing to have more precise instructions. He could not help but glance at what the others were doing, everyone had moved into the space, putting themselves in a good distance one from the others, already focusing on their work. Only Eric seemed confused, meeting Sunwoo’s empty eyes. His friend smiled at him, sticking out his thumb as a cheer, to which Sunwoo answered with a nod. Thankfully, Changmin had not left his side. 

“Do you have an idea?” the magician asked him.

“No,” Sunwoo grumbled, annoyed at the training and the lack of imagination in his head. He tried to close his eyes again, but only random thoughts and crawling anxiety came up. When he opened back his eyes, a girl had already managed to make a dress appear in front of her. He watched her move her hands in front of the fabric, making the color switch from a forest green to a mint one, adding here and there embroideries and glitters on the bottom part. She was doing it so easily and naturally, exactly like the teacher had showed them. 

He sighed, taking his gaze off her and coming back to Changmin. “You’re not doing anything,” he noticed. 

The magician raised an eyebrow, “neither are you,” he threw back, laughing. “You know I’ve already went through all this training, it only takes me a second to...” 

He did not finish his own sentence, instead, he made his hand dance on the air, and in a second a beautiful bouquet was in his other hand. The flowers were all blooming into colorful and bright colors, each and every of their petals looked shiny. Here and there, a few green plants had been elegantly mixed with the flowers, creating a delicate harmony between of all of it. Their stems were hold with a long deep blue ribbon. A brilliant black pearl was on the center of the knot, little diamonds were dripping from it into a perfect line. The more Sunwoo looked at it, the more details and taste he found into the composition, he wondered how someone could picture so quickly and easily all of this. He met Changmin’s eyes who were curiously looking at him, and he felt embarrassed. 

“Two minutes left!” the professor singsong happily.

Behind the bouquet, Changmin was almost disappearing, “your turn now,” he said, “you can do it.” 

Sunwoo nodded, closing his eyes once again and squatting down. He took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind as much as possible to focus on what he had to do. However the sight of Changmin and the bouquet he had made was not leaving the space in his brain. He started to feel annoyed by it, until an idea popped up. By instinct, his hand moved as the idea was becoming clearer in his head, the same tingling feeling rushing to the tip of his fingers. A bit of confidence breathed life into his inspiration and he felt his movements and his thought becoming stronger, more precise. Once he was done, he hesitated, not daring to open his eyes and face his potential failure. 

“That’s pretty good, Mr Kim, especially for your first try. I see you even made the lines move.” sir Choi’s voice declared. 

He opened one eye to see the professor in front of him. He looked down to see the exact vase he had imagined on the floor in front of him. Although it was a simple form, he had tried to visualize pretty details as much as possible. A white porcelain vase, on the bottom of it, black stripes, the same deep shining black as the pearl on Changmin’s ribbon, that were indeed moving in a circle motion. Here and there, brighter points of silver were appearing, in a totally random pattern, as the black stripes were turning. The top part was smaller than the bottom one. He had imagined there, drips of colors, echoing the flowers, and had tried to make it as harmonious and pretty as possible. 

The professor moved the vase, a liquid sound came out of it, “oh! You thought about the water too. Mr Ji will have somewhere to keep his flowers then.” 

Sunwoo agreed in silence, his cheeks red and burning. On those words, Changmin immediately put the flowers in the vase, and the teacher left to see the other students. 

“It might be a bit too small,” Sunwoo noticed, “I underestimated the bouquet, I guess.” 

Changmin shrugged, “that’s not a problem,” he answered and moved his hand, a few flowers disappeared and then the bouquet fit perfectly. 

The magician was about to say something but a loud explosion sound stopped him. They both turned their head to see Eric’s face coming out behind a cloud of smoke, his hair raised up on his head and looking obviously confused. Sir Choi passed next to him, and the boy mumbled a few words that Sunwoo did not understand. He then saw the professor deeply sigh and move on to the next student. 

“What happened?” he asked Eric when his friend came near him.

“I don’t know, I had the object in my hands and then, boum. It happens a lot,” he added, scratching the back of his head. 

Changmin laughed, “lack of concentration?” he wondered with a smile. 

Eric shrugged, “it would not be the first time it’s causing me a problem!” 

He put his hand on Sunwoo’s shoulder, suddenly looking excited, “but you did it! That’s amazing!” 

The other man blushed, “yeah,” he muttered, not hiding very well the contagious excitement. He turned to meet Changmin’s proud look and it made him even happier. 

Once again, sir Choi clapped his hands to get their focus back on him. “Everyone did very good,” Sunwoo saw Eric look away, “because we have a special guest today, and if he agrees, I thought about something interesting.” 

His eyes were sparkling when he looked at Changmin who was eagerly waiting. 

“Is there someone that would feel brave enough to confront a member of the council in a duel?” 

The entire room fell silent, everyone was now staring at Changmin, who did not seem to mind it too much. 

Eric whistled very quietly, “that’s cool,” he commented. 

“I’d like to try.” 

All the eyes shifted to the one who had just spoken. Sunwoo recognized the same girl who had created the pretty dress earlier. A tint of pink in her cheeks, she still held her head high, her fist on her waist in a confident position. She took a timid step forward when the teacher nodded with a smile. 

“Thank you Miss Lee,” he said, he made a sign with his head toward Changmin who came closer to the girl. 

Eric grabbed Sunwoo’s wrist and pushed him back to the side of the room, with the other students. The teacher gave a few instructions to Changmin and the girl, she seemed a bit nervous but was still holding her entire posture not to show it too much. 

“Chaeyeon is the best among all of us,” Eric whispered to him, pointing the girl with a sign of his head, “of course, she’s nowhere near Changmin’s level, but I think she can be quite fierce.” 

Sunwoo nodded, curiously looking at the two greeting each others. Changmin smiled brightly at Chaeyeon, who answered with a more timid one. 

“Please, be careful, both of you,” the professor said loudly, “the point is not to hurt each other but to practice the offensive spells we’ve seen since the beginning of our classes, but most importantly, to think quick and precisely.” 

He turned to Chaeyeon, “Changmin will mostly defend himself, your challenge is to manage to touch him.” 

The girl nodded and started to get ready, keeping a distance between her and the other magician. She opened her two hands, keeping her arms straight following the lines of her body. Sunwoo was impressed by the intensity of her gaze, strength and confidence were radiating through it, making almost invisible the slight nervousness trembles in her legs. 

Changmin’s expression changed too, seriousness appearing on his features, however he stayed chilled, obviously not too tense at the idea of fighting, in comparison to Chaeyeon. Sir Choi nodded at their position, and gave the start. Sunwoo felt a shiver of excitement tickling him. 

It started a bit slower than what he had expected. Chaeyeon first observed Changmin, analyzing the way he was standing, probably trying to find any sign of weakness in the young man. However the latter let nothing show, and the girl was forced to attack blindly. She moved her right hand, muttering something that he could not hear at all, and a ray of lilac came out of it, rushing toward Changmin. To Sunwoo’s shock, the magician did not move until the very last moment, avoiding the spurt of magic. His body moved with such a grace and easiness while the magic ended its trajectory on the opposite wall, leaving there a burning hole. 

Sunwoo’s jaw dropped open, already imagining what kind of effect it could have had if it had touched Changmin. The magician also glanced at him, raising an eyebrow but softly smiled. If Sunwoo’s heart was beating rapidly in his chest, rushes of anxiety now pulsing in his body at the idea of the other man getting hurt. Yet he was looking at the duel with fascination and eagerness. 

“You’re strong,” Changmin gently said to Chaeyeon. 

She just nodded, a fade smile on her lips, the muscles of her body losing a bit of tension but she was still on edge. Changmin came back to his place, right in front of her and, once again, she threw a ray of magic at him. This time a sparkly explosion of green and blue colors, coming from both way to attack the magician. 

Changmin moved like he weighted nothing, like a fish graciously swimming in the water, like it was a dance, like he was supported by something to bounce here and there, to avoid with such precision the multiples rays of magic that Chaeyeon was throwing at him with more and more power. Watching him felt like it was the easiest thing, like it had been rehearsed for hours before. At some point, the young girl managed to send a red spurt of magic, more thin than every other one she had created yet way quicker, immediately after an attack that had made Changmin fall on the ground. Sunwoo bit his nail, his eyes widened by anxiety, not seeing the magician stand up as fast as he should have. 

In the very last second, right before the scarlet ray reached him, a transparent, verging on a soft bluish tone, shield folded around him. He had not even moved his hands to make it appear. The ray ricocheted on the shield, getting back toward Chaeyeon direction, who avoided it clumsily by throwing herself on the floor. Sunwoo saw a bit of her blonde hair being burnt by it. Sir Choi stood up, clapping his hands a few times to make the duel stop. 

“I think this is gonna be enough for today,” he said with a smile, “great job Ms Lee.” 

Chaeyeon got back on her feet, her breath was short and her hair completely messy, “I didn’t manage to touch him,” she frowned. 

“You made it difficult for me,” Changmin said, replacing a few of his dark locks that were falling in front of his eyes. “You’re already very powerful.” 

She blushed, nodding politely but unable to hide the satisfied, yet shy, smile on her lips. Changmin came back next to Sunwoo, while the teacher was pointing out the good uses of her magic Chaeyeon had made. 

“You barely used magic,” Sunwoo let out in a breath when the magician was near him. 

Changmin hummed, “magic is a powerful tool, but you always have to remember that you are living in an element which is air,” he started to explain, “and if you manage to master air and understand how it’ll help you grow stronger, how you can use it to your advantage, magic will be even more useful.” 

The other man frowned, confused.

“We do not exist in the empty,” he added, “we are surrounded in our element, we just cannot see it. It doesn’t mean it’s not here.” 

“That sounds complicated,” Sunwoo remarked with a sigh, scratching the top of his head, trying to understand what he meant. 

Changmin shrugged, “it’s okay, you’ll learn, I’ll help you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on twitter to see more of my writing and life struggles: @woobrioche
> 
> also i hope you enjoyed the magic description part, i did my best and funfact but what changmin says at the end has been told to me by a theater performer during one of my lesson and i thought it was dope so yeah

**Author's Note:**

> find me on twitter : @woobrioche


End file.
